Stewed chicken wing with plum 手羽と梅の煮付け

This in on the theme of using plums from making plum wine. I read that you could use plums from plum wine in any stewed meat like chicken wings or pork spare ribs but no "recipe" was provided. I decided just to stew chicken wings (wings and drummets separated with wing tips discarded) with plums and soy sauce flavor.

I placed wings and drummets (6 each) in a colander and poured boiling water over them and then placed them in a saute pan. I filled the remaining space in the pan with the plums which were used to make plum wine. I added enough water (400 to 500 ml or 2-3 cups) to barely cover the chicken. I also put in one scallion (white part) and 3 thin slivers of ginger. I let it simmer for 10-15 minutes with the lid on. I added soy sauce (3 tbs), mirin (2 tbs) and sake (2tbs) and turned up the flame to cook another 10-15 minutes or until the liquid reduces by half or more.

My wife made baked cauliflower with garbanzo beans, black olive, and hot pepper the night before. So I used that as an accompaniment.  The plum was soft and tasted plummy with sour and sweet flavor. Chicken is OK but not outstanding. The texture of skin is not the best. We like chicken wings cooked other ways.

Our Japanese plum tree which produced the plums used in the above dish as well as umeshu is in full bloom. Possibly due to the harsh winter, it is flowering late. It often blooms at the end of January or February. We have pictures, taken in previous years, of the blossoms covered in snow. It has a lovely subtle perfume that fills the air. During the day the flowers are covered in a cloud of bees. Where they come from, especially in January we don't know. One thing is for sure this lovely tree beats crocuses as a harbinger of spring.